Five years ago a series of murders threatened to tear apart the City of Monuments. There were talks of heroes from Sandpoint, the very same ones who solved the now infamous Skinsaw Murders defeating some ancient evil. The truth of these rumors will likely never be fully revealed, for no one has heard from the Heroes of Sandpoint since saving Sandpoint from a giant invasion.

A few months later, rumors began to trickle in from Korvosa. The king had died, and his beautiful young wife ruled with an iron fist. With all the shoanti in an uproar and a war footing in the makes, it wasn't hard to believe.

Four years ago, the Blot appeared above Riddleport. What was at first a curiosity was soon found to be much more when the meteor hit. Then people began talking about the dark elves.

Only a year ago, a caravan bearing Ameiko Kaijitsu, adventurer and personal friend of the Heroes of Sandpoint, left heading north. None have seen or heard from them since.

It would seem Varisia is beginning to live up to its moniker-the Birthplace of Legends. Yet other than a footnote in the tale of the Heroes of Sandpoint, Magnimar, City of Monuments, home to more of the ruined monuments of ancient days than any other one place in Varisia, has been the same "quiet" city. To be certain, it has its dangers and thrills, but no more than any other city of its size. Adventure, it seems, has avoided Magnimar.

Adventure. That's why you joined the Pathfinders. Sure you may have had other reasons as well, but the lure of adventure has caught you, and will not relinquish its hold. Three years you spent in Absalom, three grueling years of testing, training, and scrubbing floors. Hardly adventure. Yet now you find yourselves elevated to the rank of Pathfinder. With that, you now find yourselves in the City of Monuments-called to Heidmarch Manor where your adventure will truly, finally, begin...

When sages look back upon your tale, many will say it all began with a note.

Greetings, fellow seeker of adventure!

I am Sheila Heidmarch, Venture Captain of
the newest Pathfinder Society lodge—and the only
such lodge in Varisia at this time. You have come
to my attention as someone who possesses a
certain amount of skills and interests that make
you an excellent addition to a highly specialized
team I’m putting together for a matter of grave
import, not only to the Society, but to Varisia
as a whole. Please report an hour before noon
to Heidmarch Manor—you will be compensated
for your visit, but that reward will pale in light
of the riches that await you should we come to
an agreement on my proposition to you. I look
forward to meeting you soon!
—Sheila Heidmarch

Gideon showed up at Heidmarch Manor early for the summons, perhaps twenty or thirty minutes prior to the time mentioned on the flyer he had been given by one of the servants at his old home. Old home... he thought to himself, glad to be thinking of the manor..the prison...as an old home. He nervously shuffled from one foot to the other as he hesitated outside the Manor, drawing in a slow, deep breath.

He'd come with everything he dared bring from home, but it was the first time in at least two years he'd really even been long away from home. For a moment he thought about turning around and going back home, forgetting this whole idea...but the memory of the way his parents had treated him for the last four years haunted him, steeled his faltering nerves. He drew himself up taller, sucking in a deep breath as he pulled the hood of his cloak over his face a little more, then opened the door to the manor, slipping inside.

Once he had entered, he did his best to blend into the background, not advancing more than a step or two into the building before stepping off to one side, carefully observing the room from beneath the safety of his hood's shadow. His hands were hidden inside his cloak, nervously thumbing the edges of the deck of Harrow cards he had purchased in the market, partially using the money he'd made from selling his old robes of nobility, determined to learn this fortune-telling craft for himself. And why not? Harrowing was a proud tradition in Varisia, and it was at a Harrow reading he had first learned of his coming destiny. Maybe he could learn more about it if he learned himself how to read the cards.

It was irritating that the summons had come so soon upon arriving in Magnimar. The megaliths of Irespan excited Andavar. He had spent decades mapping the caverns and tunnels of Mindspin but had just a morning to marvel at this greater wonder. Stone; nothing could match its subtle beauty.

A human slipped into the room. Very young.

Andavar had encountered few of the race during his life in Janderhoff or the years delving in the dark, but there had been plenty in Absalom. Nevertheless, it was still difficult to judge where a child ended and an adult began. He wondered what could really be achieved in such a pitifully short lifetime.

The human was fiddling with a Harrow deck.

"Can you read those?.. Perhaps you could find out where they keep the ale around here."

Basil leaves the Cathederal of Adabar and steps out into the streets of the Naos District.Turning right and walking alont the side of the great building to reach the boundary of the Capital District he heads towards the noble houses of Alabaster

Walking purposefuly down the crowded streets he pays little attention to the fine decoration of the surrounding buildings though his nose wrinkles a little as he skirts the rear off the Lord Mayors Menagerie with it's complement of dung carts and the roars of the creatures kept within the park..this he knows is the other responsibility of the Heidmarchs.

A few score steps beyond and he enters the Alabaster District it's streets quiet apart from the occassional scurrying servant on some indefinable errand for their Master or Mistress..

The House of Lords it's spires gleaming in the morning sunshine lies across the braod plaza from the Menagerie and the Heidmarch manor faces it across a similarly broad but shady square replete with tall oaks and maples affording some shade for the common folk awaiting their turn before the nobles representatives.

Nodding to a couple of aqquaintances Basil enters the Heidmarch Manor with a few minutes to spare.As this is mostly a social call he has chosen not to wear his armour but merely a padded doublet a short cape emblazoned with Adabars Insignia and hose also, rather than his battle sword, he carries a light blade more fitting to the outfit.

Basil nodded to the Dwarf and the Young Man already waiting in the room he was directed to.

"Basil De Fermer..Knight of Adabar..I take it you gentlemen are here on the same summons I received?"

Alleria rides Aventurine to the Alabaster District musing about running into her family. Magnimar was large but it would be just her luck that some cousin or family friend would see her and attempt to talk her ear off. Then again, and more likely, mom and dad had seen to it that Alleria was not to be approached.

Alleria shrugs as the horse canters to her destination. In the distance she sees Gideon enter the house. A dwarf and a noble of some kind breach the distance between them. When Alleria discovered that Gideon would be sent back to Magnimar she made sure she would make her way back to the city as well. The dwarf enters the same house and Alleria nods. It was a summons for a team. The society liked teams...

As the noble type (was that a sigil of Abadar?) approaches the door Alleria guides the horse to the stabling arrangements. Swinging of the horse the studs of her armor and the buttons of her coat clack slightly. The armor was one of the last things her parent's gave her; studded leather bodice with skirt. A more feminine version of the armor and more befitting Alleria's style. The leather was dark and the studs a fine steel, the armor looked like it was part of the coat, blouse and skirts she normally wore and so Alleria saw no reason not to arrive in full attire.

Seeing that Aventurine is cared for Alleria makes her way to the manor entrance. As she approaches the designated meeting place she takes off her hat and stashes it under her arm, leaving the scarf firmly holding her hair in place.

Entering the room she sees Gideon fiddling with his Harrow deck and the dwarf chatting him up. The noble offered an introduction of some type but she barely missed it from outside. Seeing the three men gathered she smirks, So its to be a boy's party is it? I can play nice I suppose.

Basil turns as a melifluous female voice sounds behind him, he bows slightly to the young woman who has just entered..

"A boys party no longer fair lady..I am Basil a Servant of Adabar..and my companions here were just about to introduce themse.."he stops, looks at her again then at the young man with the cards.."ah...do I detect a family resemblance here by some chance"

Alleria cannot contain herself and lets out a light laugh, Alleria Derexhi and yes, that is my brother, Gideon. Making a point of looking Basil up and down Alleria smiles politely (perhaps there is a little mischief in the eyes), It gladdens my heart to see a servant of the Vault, for where there is Abadar there is surely soon to be gold.

Andavar Chekgir of Janderhoff. He introduces himself to nobody in particular and then mutters, Unimpressive hospitality so far.

Andavar loosens the straps of his huge and bulging backpack and shrugs it off onto the floor, accompanied by a cacophony of clanging, clanking, and the sloshing of liquid. The dwarf pulls drawstrings loose and rummages inside the canvas. He emerges with a tankard - it's handle clenched between his teeth - and a small barrel of ale cradled in his considerable forearms.

With much sighing and creaking of joints, Andavar settles himself down on the floor, places his tankard beside him and begins to prise open the cask.

As the dwarf prepares his drink the door to the foyer opens and two women walk out. The first you know, if only by reputation - Sheila Heidmarch. A scholarly-looking, raven-haired woman gracefully approaching middle age, Sheila Heidmarch cuts an impressive figure in her sapphire blue gown. Her appearance is further augmented by the woman following behind her. Rough-and-tumble and covered in multiple facial piercings and impressive tribal tattoos, the attractive half-elven woman accompanying Sheila more accurately resembles the typical adventurous Pathfinder. She is dressed in leather armor and armed with a distinctive-looking mithral-and-redwood aklys (a hooked club attached to a cord) and a bastard sword sheathed and hanging from her belt. A successful DC 18 Knowledge (dungeoneering or local) might recognize this woman.

18 Knowledge (dungeoneering or local):

This is Koriah Azmeren, one of Varisia’s most famous Pathfinders and a well-renowned expert on the Darklands.

Sheila greets each of you in turn with an unusually deep voice. Her tone betrays her no-nonsense attitude as she thanks you for answering her summons. She then introduces her companion.

"And this is Koriah Azmeren. Koriah has just returned from an expedition to the Darklands below Varisia, having successfully scouted out a new route down to Nar-Voth from the Fogscar Mountains. She has returned with a surprising number of Thassilonian artifacts from this
expedition," she says with a twinkle in her eye. "I apologize for the further delay, but I must must spend a few more moments discussing the implications of this discovery with Koriah." She pauses, as if struck by an interesting idea. then pauses for a
moment as if in thought. "On second thought, why don't you accompany us," she says before swaying off into an adjoining room.

Gideon started slightly at the dwarf's approach, having not expected the sudden greeting and being lost in his own thoughts, memories of home forming fresh in his mind. He glanced down at the harrow deck he was fidgeting with, taking a moment to respond.

"Er...well..yes. No. I..I'm trying to learn how to divine the meaning of the cards, but I've only been learning for a little while and I fear that I am not yet very accomplished. I hope someday to be, though." came the reply. His voice was not at all what one might have expected from someone who seemed so meek, a deep, smooth baritone.

Before he could say anything else, another human man came in, naming himself Basil, a Paladin of Abadar, following shortly after by a familiar face..his sister Alleria. He smiled upon seeing her, immediately walking over to where she was standing in the entryway, greeting her in the same quiet voice before turning to face the others once more.

He pauses for a moment after the introductions are over before he speaks, still in that same quiet voice. "Um..my apologies everyone. Yes, Alleria is my sister. I am Gideon Derexhi, as she has already said. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance Sir Basil...and you as well, Andavar." he says to the other two, inclining his head respectfully, whose sudden interest in drink he tried to put out of his mind.

This turned out to be an easy thing when several other people came into the room, all women of varying age, though all three were also definitely attractive. He listens silently to Sheila as she tells them of Ms. Azmeren's recent expedition, glancing about after she invites everyone to come with them to the next room.

Gideon glances from person to person in the room, apparently eager to take a step forward after them. He glanced over to his sister, offering a quiet smile. "I suppose it couldn't hurt, could it Alleria?" he asked. If there had ever been anything that could drag him out of his shell, it was a woman. Even as children, he'd seemed to have a unique way with those of the female persuasion. Charming the female servants was how he'd always managed to sneak out of the manor before, though he always hated himself for how he got them all in trouble once his parents found out.

He begins walking across the room, then stops next to Adavar, recalling the creaking of his joints when he'd first sat himself down. "May I offer you a hand up?" he asks the dwarf, a warm smile beneath the hood of his cloak.

Andavar chuckles at the enthusiasm and intrigue of the young humans and gladly accepts Gideon's hand up, although the ease with which the dwarf then slings his pack over his shoulder suggests that he shares the renowned strength of his race.

Thank you, young master.

With the cask still under one arm, and swigging from the tankard in the other hand, Andavar follows the group.

The chamber appears to be the lodge's library and study. The walls are lined with bookshelves, while several tables in the middle of the room are heaped with scrolls and books. One table in the center, however, supports only a single object — an ornate cubical stone coffer covered with Thassilonian runes.

"Have a seat," Sheila says as you all enter the room, gesturing to the table. “Again I apologize for the delay, as I must conclude my business with Ms. Azmeren before we meet. In the meantime, though, I thought you could help us with another minor issue. This stone coffer," she states as she points to the box on the table,"is an ancient Thassilonian puzzle, a cunning feat of magical engineering known as a paradox box."

"As you’ll see from even a casual investigation, what appear to be seams on the sides are only shallow grooves—there’s no obvious way to open the thing. Each paradox box has its own secret method of being opened. Essentially, a paradox box substitutes hidden catches and magical triggers for a lock. Given time, anyone clever enough could figure out how to open a paradox box, just as given time, a locksmith can open any lock. This particular box was among those items recovered by Koriah — the scrolls next to the box are her preliminary notes on possible triggers or methods of opening it, but she’s not yet had a chance to sit down and properly investigate the thing."

"So... why don’t you put your heads together and see if you can’t do that for me?" she asks flashing you a charming smile. "Even if the box is empty, as I suspect it probably is, knowing the method of opening it makes it a valuable find anyway. I’ll return shortly, and I hope to see that box open! Think of this as an audition, if you will — because the actual task I want to speak to you about soon will require as much wit as it will brawn!”

As the two women leave the room, you find yourselves alone with your puzzle. A look over Koriah's notes show that she has indeed already made your task far easier. The first scroll lists translations of the significant runes on the box — one of the most oft-repeated symbols was the rune for “wrath,” which Koriah also notes is associated with evocation magic, and in the earliest days of Thassilon with the word “kindness.” Her notes indicate that this rune merely marks the box has having once belonged to a citizen of the Thassilonian nation of Bakrakhan, and that the rune likely has little to do with the method of opening this particular paradox box.

Another of Koriah’s scrolls lists a few other key observations — primarily that five of the box’s faces are identical, but on one face, several additional runes appear. These runes spell out the word “CRUEL.” Koriah has deduced that this word is somehow linked to the box’s mystery. She’s also noted that each of the individual runes in the word can be reorganized by touching two runes at once — doing so causes the two touched runes to exchange places for an hour before reverting to their original spelling of “CRUEL.”

Gideon immediately moves forward to the table once the two ladies leave; his time spent basically locked up at home had forced him to develop an interest in activities that could be engaged in alone, and riddle-solving had become one of his favorite ways to pass the time. The idea of examining a Thassilonian puzzle-box was just too much to pass up!

Eagerly throwing his hood back, revealing shoulder-length hair of darkest black, he steps forward to the table. He takes several minutes to read through the notes left by Koriah, then reaches for the box, testing its weight in his hands, feeling each of the grooves, examining the runes on the box's surface.

"Surely there must be some particular way to re-arrange the runes to spell out some important word that will bring us closer to solving the mystery of this puzzle box. The first question is this: Can only two runes at one time be exchanged? Or can you re-arrange them all, but only two at a time? The most logical solution to this puzzle is that the letters must be re-arranged to spell some key word, but there are very few words that can be made from C-R-U-E-L. Further, boxes tend to be used to contain something important...some treasure or valuable possessed by the owner of the box. And then....bah. Enough talking. I suppose there's only one way to answer all my questions at once." he observes, mainly to himself but to the others as well. He seems to be lost in his own mind as he speaks aloud, talking himself through his thought process.

Gideon will then attempt to make the following changes to the letter arrangement, if he discovers that any number of letters can be swapped, just two at a time:

CRUEL - Switch the "U" and the "R" for:
CUREL - Switch the "L" and the "C" for:
LUREC - Switch the "C" and the "R" for:
LUCER - Switch the "E" and the "R" to end with:
LUCRE

Basil raises an eyebrow at the Solution to the puzzle.."Adabar must be with us then if this is to be the solution..however have you considered that there may be a secondary defence..a trap as it were?Are any off you experienced with such things"

Yeralithi looks at her map for what must have been the hundredth time this morning. It was hand drawn map of a small portion of Magnimar. Though it was very detailed, here was no legend. Nor were no markings of any kind, save for a single arrow pointing at a building. It was a "test" of her master's. "If you cannot find your way with this, you have no business calling yourself a Pathfinder," he said. It seems more like a practical joke.

She had hoped to have more time to find the lodge, but she had arrived in town just this morning. The caravan she had been traveling with had run into many unforeseen delays. She had not even time to rent a room and stow her gear before attempting to find her destination.

Standing before what she hoped was her destination, she looks at her map one last time, turning it to match the direction she was facing. All of the surrounding buildings were correct. The monument was right over there. This must be the place.

She dusts herself off and straightens her hair as best she can, and with a deep breath, she enters the building. She is lead to a room full of books and scrolls where several people are hovering over a stone box.

"I apologize for my lateness," she says. She removes her pack and finds an empty space on the floor to leave it. "Has the meeting started already?"

Within moments of Gideon getting his hands on the paradox box, he begins sliding magical runes across the 'top' of the box. Seconds later, an elven woman enters the room, apologizing for her tardiness. It seems she was also called to meet with Sheila. No sooner has she asked if the meeting has already started then Gideon announces, "I've got it!"

Unfortunately, the box holds no secrets of ancient Thassilon — it instead holds an ancient trap that summons a pair of pugwampis. As the box opens, two dog-faced gremlins spring from the box and immediately begin wreaking havoc throughout the chamber - ripping up scrolls, carving obscenities into wooden surfaces, slashing books, chewing on candles, or otherwise defacing things in the room.

Gideon's look of elation at having solved the puzzle turns quickly to horror as the pugwampis begin wreaking havoc in the chamber, destroying tomes and scrolls that contain untold knowledge.

"Seems you were right, Sir Basil! We must stop them from destroying anything else!" he says, immediately weaving a spell that he hopes will aid his allies in preventing the gremlins from doing any more damage to the priceless tomes present.

Gideon will cast Bless, which should have a big enough radius to affect everyone in the room.

The tiny creature freezes on the spot. It's eyes widen and blood begins to drain out one of its ears. The other stops its vandalism at the sight of its companion and turns hissing towards Yeralithi. It pulls a tiny sliver of metal from its throat like a magician and flings it at the elf. The 'weapon' hits her shin with no more force than a pin prick.

Basil moves towards the sprites his rapier flashing from it's sheath, mmomentarily regretting having not come prepared for a proper fight but this had been suppossed to be a social call.He lunges for the still active gremlin

Yes, I caught that about Basil after the fact. I was only giving you a hard time about the gun being loaded. Plus, most people wouldn't know the difference anyway.

Basil whips his blade from its sheathe in a dramatic flourish. A quick step forward sees the blade slide neatly in one end and out the other of the hopping menace. It vanishes in a puff of smoke.

Meanwhile, Alleria lines up her shot perfectly against the drooling gremlin and just as she pulls the trigger, the mystical smoke from the other gremlin gets in her eyes and the shot flies high, blowing a hole in several books and splintering the shelf.

However, as he moves in, the furious noise from Alleria's attack causes him to jump just as his blow falls. His axe hits the floor with a muffled *thunk*. It takes the burly dwarf only a moment to recover his weapon from the floor, but as he pulls, chunks of the well-worn hard wood come up in a flurry of splinters.

Yera disappears. Swirling air catches a piece of paper and whirls it around where she once stood. She instantly reappears on top of the table. She says a few arcane words and a vaguely humanoid shaped blob of pink light stands in front of the dazed pugwampi.

Yera uses one of her shifts to teleport to the top of the table and (hopefully) out of the creature's reach. She casts Dancing Lights in front of the dazed pugwampi in the hopes that it will confuse the creature when it recovers.

DM Hector, would a 14 attack roll from Alleria have made a hit? Gideon was second in the initiative, so everyone but Yeralithi would've benefited from an extra +1 bonus to attack in the first round from the Bless spell he cast.

Gideon takes a deep breath, thumbing open the snap-button catch on the harness securing his morning star, taking the spike-headed club in one hand, raising his light shield protectively as he waits to see if one of the ugly creatures decides to take a shot at him. If not, he will be ready to take his own shot in a few seconds.

Pugwampi's make you roll twice on D20 rolls in their presence and take the lower result. So, yes. A 14 would've got it, but an 11 wouldn't. Also, exactly what is your action. You go before the pugwampi. Are you holding?

Ah! Gotcha. Sorry then! My mistake. Also, my action is to draw the morningstar as a move and then hold. I can't charge or attack as they're out of range, right? I don't have a +1 BAB yet, so I can't draw on a charge yet, either, if I remember right.

The pugwampi snaps out of Yeralithi's spell only to be confronted by a glowing pink luminescence. Apparently the tiny menace feels threatened by the light as it begins to slash madly at it with a dagger that you're not entirely sure where it got.

Seeing the creatures continue to menace the group Alleria will pull her sword and move to make a decent charge If I can charge this round I will, If I can't I will advance close enough to be in range to charge next action.

Alleria tosses her pistol into her off-hand and rushes the gremlin, drawing her sword as she deftly moves forward. In one swift slash, the creature's head is separated from its body and it disappears in a puff of smoke.

No sooner has the smoke cleared than the door to the room opens and Sheila and Koriah enter. "What was that noise?" She asks worriedly. Her tone swiftly changes to one of anger as she gathers in the state of the room. "And what happened here!?"

Gideon steps forward, lightly biting his lower lip as he gets a decent look around the room to see the chaos that was left after the pugwampis were banished.

"Forgive us, m'ladies. We...we opened the Thassilonian box you gave to us. It was a word-puzzle. The letters C-R-U-E-L had to be swapped until they spelled L-U-C-R-E, which of course means treasure. However, the box contained no treasure of any sort, but instead released two pugwampi gremlins that immediately began tearing about the room, destroying scrolls and tomes."

"We fought them as well as we could...and banished both of them...but I am afraid we probably added to the room's destruction in the process. I'm sure it is nothing that cannot be repaired by a spell of Mending, though. Please forgive us for the damage we have caused. We were only trying to help." he answered the two women, head bowed sheepishly toward them.

Basil examines the table "Hmm an interesting toy you have there Alleria? But they will never replace cold steel. Are we certain there is nothing at all in the box apart from those..things, whatever they were"

Alleria winks at Basil, Doesn't have to replace steel, just catch everyone else off guard to suit my purpose. She sheathes the sword and looks about the room. Yeah, you can magic this back to new can't you Gideon?

Alleria reloads the gun and puts it back in her belt. Looking at the two older women with a slightly sheepish grin. Sorry for the chaos, my aim was a little off...